"'It was only an 'opeless fancy
It passed like an Ipril dye
But a look an' a word an' the dreams they stirred
They 'ave stolen my 'eart awye'" (218).
The song written by the Party for the proles is ever reoccuring in Winston's story, as it tells his tale along with George Orwell. Orwell uses the song to describe Winston's hopeless fancy for the future to be like the past, and a desire to help make it turn out that way. But although he feels this fancy rather strongly, he never bothered to act on it until one day he gets a look from O'Brien during the Two Minutes Hate that cause dreams of joining the underground conspiracy group referred to as "the Brotherhood" in their supposed quest to overthrow the Party. Orwell put two meanings in the last line of the song. The first meaning is how Winston and others in his position would understand the song, if they realize that it is deeper than a simple song for the proles: the dreams and falsities that they wanted to believe as truth stole their hearts and, essentially, their souls. The second meaning of the last line is the view of one more sympathetic to Winston's cause: the "they" in the last line is referring to the Thought Police, and how they will steal your heart and soul once they know of the dreams in your heart. But as the purpose of the song was never outwardly broadcast as a warning, or a tale of a Party member gone astray, the proles take it to be a song of a lost love, and the Party members barely know of its existence.
It passed like an Ipril dye
But a look an' a word an' the dreams they stirred
They 'ave stolen my 'eart awye'" (218).
The song written by the Party for the proles is ever reoccuring in Winston's story, as it tells his tale along with George Orwell. Orwell uses the song to describe Winston's hopeless fancy for the future to be like the past, and a desire to help make it turn out that way. But although he feels this fancy rather strongly, he never bothered to act on it until one day he gets a look from O'Brien during the Two Minutes Hate that cause dreams of joining the underground conspiracy group referred to as "the Brotherhood" in their supposed quest to overthrow the Party. Orwell put two meanings in the last line of the song. The first meaning is how Winston and others in his position would understand the song, if they realize that it is deeper than a simple song for the proles: the dreams and falsities that they wanted to believe as truth stole their hearts and, essentially, their souls. The second meaning of the last line is the view of one more sympathetic to Winston's cause: the "they" in the last line is referring to the Thought Police, and how they will steal your heart and soul once they know of the dreams in your heart. But as the purpose of the song was never outwardly broadcast as a warning, or a tale of a Party member gone astray, the proles take it to be a song of a lost love, and the Party members barely know of its existence.
check your wording through here -- read carefull; why is it significant that there are two potential meanings here?
ReplyDeleteOriginal:
ReplyDelete"The song written by the Party for the proles is ever reoccuring in Winston's story, as it tells his tale along with George Orwell. Orwell uses the song to describe Winston's hopeless fancy for the future to be like the past, and a desire to help make it turn out that way. But although he feels this fancy rather strongly, he never bothered to act on it until one day he gets a look from O'Brien during the Two Minutes Hate that cause dreams of joining the underground conspiracy group referred to as "the Brotherhood" in their supposed quest to overthrow the Party. But in the last line, Orwell stuck two meaning equally important to the story. The first meaning is how Winston and others in his position should understand the song, if they had realized it was deeper than just being a song for the proles: the dreams and falsities that they wanted to believe as truth stole their hearts and, essentially, their souls. The second meaning to the last line is the view of one more sympathetic to Winston's cause: the "they" in the last line is referring to the Thought Police, and how they will steal your heart and soul once they know of the dreams in your heart. But as the purpose of the song was never outwardly broadcast as a warning, or a tale of a Party member gone astray, the proles take it to be a song of a lost love, and the Party members barely know of its existence."